Oh, Sweet Bitter Envy
by Jewelled Boots
Summary: Fed up with her stagnant love-life, Amy decides to play hard-to-get to FINALLY get Sonic's attention. Ingenius, right? And with her good friends Rouge and Knuckles helping her, it can't possibly go wrong. Except that Knuckles doesn't know he's helping her...and when did she start considering Rouge her good friend?


_"Don't tell me you've never heard of playing hard-to-get?"_

...

"I'm at the end of my rope here! I've tried getting close to him and I've tried giving him space, but neither one ever works. Why won't he just admit that he likes me as much as I like him?"

Rouge calmly sipped her water, unaffected by the pink hedgehog's loud ranting. "Just a thought, but have you ever considered the possibility of him not liking you in that way?" asked the white bat.

"What?" Amy nearly screeched, oblivious to the curious looks she received from the other animals in the coffee shop. "Of course he is! How could you even ask something like that? Everyone knows Sonic is in love with me!"

"Cool your jets, pinky, I was only asking." Rouge smirked, further irritating the already ticked-off Amy. Huffing, the pink hedgehog crossed her arms and slouched in her seat, her lips pouting childishly.

"At this rate, I'm never gonna get married." she mumbled.

Rouge raised a brow. "You're only fifteen, hon. You have plenty of years ahead of you."

"But my mom was married when she was sixteen and I always figured it would be the same for me."

"Still, you don't have to rush it."

"I'm not rushing anything."

Rouge paused at Amy's snappish tone, but then shrugged it off. Personally, she never understood what was so appealing about marriage, especially marrying young. This was the time of life to spend partying and seeking adventure. How was one supposed to do that if they were busy getting themselves tied down?

_'To each his own, I suppose.' _the bat mentally decided and sipped more of her water. She wasn't entirely sure why she was still talking to the she-hog about her problematic love-life. Thirty minutes ago, she had ventured inside the restaurant for a light snack when she spotted Amy sitting gloomily by her lonesome. Thus far the day had been rather dull, so Rouge had approached the pink hedgehog to see if the Sonic gang was up to anything of interest. Now here she was, listening to Amy moan over her failed attempts to woe Sonic. It wasn't as bad as it sounded, however. Though Rouge normally avoided such romantic drivel, in her current state of boredom she actually found Amy's conversation somewhat amusing. Maybe she could even get some real fun out of this...

"You know, Amy," Rouge started, a sly smile playing on her full lips and her half-lidded eyes gleaming mischievously. "I've learned when it comes to certain guys the best way to win their interest is to show no interest at all."

Amy blinked dumbly. "Huh?"

"Don't tell me you've never heard of playing hard-to-get?"

"Of course I've heard of it." Amy snapped, offended by Rouge's question. "It just seems stupid to me. If you like someone, why would you go around pretending you don't like them?"

"Simple, hon. People always want what they can't have. Take your relationship with Big Blue. The more he runs from you, the more you chase after him."

"So, you're saying Sonic's playing hard-to-get with me?"

"Maybe." Rouge smiled secretly and looked sideways. Amy narrowed her green eyes at the older female. It was obvious that she was hiding something, but the pink hedgehog wasn't sure if she wanted to learn what it was. Plus, prying information out of her mysterious friend was always a frustrating process which hardly ever yielded satisfying results.

Amy sighed in annoyance. "Fine, be that way. Just tell me how to do this stupid hard-to-get thing."

"It's quite easy, really." said Rouge, her gaze lingering outside the window. Dark clouds were beginning to blanket the afternoon sky. A bad storm was definitely on the way. "All you need to do is get a life outside of Sonic."

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

"My word, pinky, you truly are hopeless."

It took all of Amy's willpower to hold back an angry retort. There was a good reason why she and Rouge never spent a lot of time together. The two females could barely sit alone for five minutes without a fight ensuing.

Smirking, Rouge turned her face away from the window and drank the last bit of her water. "Go shopping, catch a movie, rob a few jewelry stores. It really doesn't matter what you do. But whenever you come in contact with Sonic, you have to act as if you have no romantic feelings for him whatsoever."

"That's all?" Amy asked, surprised by the sheer simplicity of the procedure. "Hm, sounds pretty easy."

Rouge rolled her teal eyes. She highly doubted Amy could last a single day giving Sonic the cold shoulder. He would only need to send her a friendly wave while passing by during one of his runs and she would revert to her usual love-crazed self, promptly chasing after him like the pathetic thing she was. Then again, Amy Rose could be awful stubborn when she put her mind to something. It was both her worst and best quality.

An idea suddenly popped into the bat's head and she had to resist smiling like a Cheshire cat. Oh yes, this little scheme was about to become a whole lot more interesting.

"Okay, your smile is officially creeping me out now." Amy's voice broke through her thoughts. "What are you planning?"

"Oh, nothing much." Rouge smiled innocently. "I was just thinking..."

"About?" Amy inquired, her expression wary. Whatever Rouge's idea was, she already didn't approve.

...

After suffering from severe writer's block for months, I realized I just needed to write up something fun (in which fun means loads of awkward conversations and romantic tension, because what's funner than that?). I think I'll be able to update this one quite a bit as I can feel my creative juices pumping for once.

Please feel free to leave a review telling me whatever comments or criticisms you may have. They help me to improve my writing, plus it's just nice to hear from you. At any rate, thank you for taking the time to read my story!


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